BOULDER — It was as if the Texas faithful had held their breath for 60 minutes of football. No, they weren’t worried about beating Colorado. The scoreboard reading “Texas 38, Colorado 14” confirmed what we knew all along. But they could not wait to let out a chant that will be heard all over Texas this week.
Maybe two nanoseconds had passed after the final buzzer Saturday night before the massive burnt-orange section of Folsom Field began screaming, “Beat OU! Beat OU!” When the Longhorns stopped on the way to their locker room to join the chorus, you knew Saturday’s showdown in Dallas between No. 1 Oklahoma (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) and No. 5 Texas (5-0, 1-0) would not be an ordinary Red River Shootout.
And it won’t. This is the first Oklahoma-Texas game involving a top-ranked team since 1987, and that was more shutdown than showdown. No. 1 Oklahoma blasted unranked Texas 44-9 in the immortal coach David McWilliams’ first year. There have been huge games recently. In 2002, No. 2 Oklahoma beat No. 3 Texas 35-24, and in 2004 No. 2 Oklahoma beat No. 5 Texas 12-0.
This one is bigger.
“We’ll have everybody in America talking about it next week,” Texas coach Mack Brown said Saturday night. “That’s what we wanted.”
Both quarterbacks are legitimate Heisman Trophy contenders. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford is second nationally in pass efficiency at 204.97, and Texas’ Colt McCoy is fourth at 197.94. It’s Oklahoma’s fourth-ranked scoring offense (49.6 points per game) versus Texas’ fourth-ranked scoring defense (11.40). It’s McCoy versus Oklahoma’s top-ranked pass efficiency defense (85.57) and Bradford against a Texas team leading the nation in sacks (3.8 a game).
The two teams were disappointments last year but have vastly improved defenses. Oklahoma has cut its pass defense from 228 yards per game to 159. New starting cornerbacks Dominique Franks and Brian Jackson haven’t been beaten deep all year.
“We’ve been looking to this challenge,” Oklahoma safety Lendy Holmes said after the Sooners’ 49-17 win at Baylor. “It’s what we’ve been waiting for. We’re going to find out what we’re about.”
How’s Vandy doing it?
Vanderbilt has gone from not having a winning season since 1982 to No. 13 in the country by playing as smart as the university’s reputation. It leads the nation in turnover margin with plus-9, quarterback Chris Nickson and backup Mackenzi Adams have thrown only one interception, it’s grinding out 182.8 rushing yards a game and the underrated defense is collecting more than three sacks a game. Kicker Bryant Hahnfeldt is 7-for-8.
Auburn: O No!
Coach Tommy Tuberville’s decision to jettison offensive coordinator Ron Borges and his West Coast offense for spread guru Tony Franklin is not working. Auburn is 104th in total offense (309.17 ypg) and 103rd in scoring (18.67 ppg), and Texas Tech transfer Chris Todd, whom Franklin handpicked to run the offense, has thrown for only 885 yards with five interceptions and five TDs.
Franklin earned his reputation as Tim Couch’s offensive coordinator at Kentucky but was out of coaching after NCAA violations drove Hal Mumme’s staff out. Franklin finally hooked on with the Lexington Horsemen of the National Indoor Football League in 2003 and later was Troy’s coordinator the previous two years.
Tale of two schools.
How much did it pain Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez to watch freshman Terrelle Pryor lead Ohio State past host Wisconsin? Pryor has put the 12th-ranked Buckeyes ahead in the Rose Bowl race, while Rodriguez, who desperately tried to land Pryor to run his spread offense, has an offense ranked 109th.
Coaching carousel.
When Wyoming gets around to firing Joe Glenn, which seems inevitable, look for the name of Nebraska receivers coach and assistant head coach Ted Gilmore to surface. He’s a 1991 Wyoming alum and assistant in 1997-98, and later a CU assistant. Maybe new athletic director Tom Burman should look at Buffalo coach Turner Gill, the former Nebraska star who has transformed the Bulls from five wins in four years to a MAC contender in only his third season.
Other names to watch as the coaching dominoes begin to fall: Oregon offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and Syracuse; and Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen and Washington. Kelly is a native of New Hampshire, and Christensen is a Washington alum.
